KEYS TO COMPREHEND THE QURAN

Let us go over our basic principles related to the manner in which a subject must be conceived and interpreted according to the Quran:

• The Quran is the only source of Islam. One should never forget that the Quran is God’s Word and was revealed to man in order that he may have understanding.
• Every single point must be conceived within the entire context of the Quran. To properly understand something mentioned in a given verse, all related verses must also be examined (partial acknowledgement of the Quran is tantamount to its flat denial). We must take for granted the fact that there are no contradictions or paradoxes in the Quran.
• Anything not included in the Quran has no religious connotation. Once we follow this precept, we shall have got rid of 90% of the interpolations. Anything that is not banned in the Quran is lawful.
• If you come across points that seem unclear to you, you must find a way to consult someone who firmly believes that the Quran is the only source of Islam and is familiar with the Arabic language and to look for it in the Quran. In doing this, you must make sure to examine the different contexts in which a particular word was used.
• In trying to understand the Quran, we must not forget that our major aids are our intelligence and conscience, and that the greatest obstacles are traditions, customs, adoption by the greater mass of the public and public censure.

Once we have seen the basic principles, we are now going to take up 10 examples that will facilitate how we are supposed to understand a problem pointed to in the Quran: